The table recalculates itself after every played match. Points come from the match rules, and places among teams level on points come from a list of criteria. Both are configured on the stage, not on the tournament as a whole — that is the main source of surprises.
This is the most useful advice in the whole article. While there are no matches, any edit is free. Once the games have started, changing the rules requires a manual recount, and any mismatch with your regulations has to be explained to teams that have already seen the table.
What the columns mean
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| GP | Games played |
| P | Points |
| W | Wins |
| D | Draws |
| L | Losses |
| GD | Goals: scored, conceded and the difference in brackets — for example «12-5 (7)» |
If the rules have penalty shoot-outs with separate points, two more columns appear — Wp and Lp: wins and losses in a penalty shoot-out.
A win on penalties is already counted in the total number of wins. The Wp column only shows how many of them were decided in a shoot-out — it does not add to the total.
Points for a result
How many points a win, a draw and a loss are worth is set in the Standard match rules. The path: open the stage you need → Main Parameters of the Stage → Standard match rules. The same rules are reachable from the tournament settings too — but with an important caveat, see below.
If penalty shoot-outs are enabled, two more fields join the basic ones — Points for win in penalty shootout and Points for loss in penalty shootout.
Because penalties have their own points, the P column stops matching the familiar «3 × wins + draws» formula. A team that drew in regulation and won the shoot-out gets not 3 points but whatever is set for a penalty win. That is not a calculation error.
You can open the rules from the tournament settings and from the stage settings — but a stage's table is calculated by the stage's rules. If they have diverged from the tournament's, the app shows a warning with an Apply tournament rules button. The tournament page has a similar banner listing the stages that have rules of their own.
When points are equal
Points always come first. The criteria only come into play for teams whose points match. There are five of them:
- Head-to-head points
- Goal plus-minus
- Goals scored
- Wins
- Cards
Here is the subtlety that confuses people most often. The criteria are applied only to teams level on points — but the figures themselves are taken from the whole group stage, not from the matches between those teams. There is one exception: head-to-head points. That criterion builds a mini-table out of the matches between the tied teams only, and compares them inside it.
In practice: if two teams are level, «goal plus-minus» compares their difference across the entire group stage — including matches against teams that are not part of the tie. Whereas «head-to-head points» looks only at the game between them.
Head-to-head points in detail
This criterion works as a separate mini-table: the app takes only the matches between the tied teams and recomputes everything from them — points, then goal difference, goals scored, wins and cards. So the same set of figures works inside the criterion, but computed exclusively from the head-to-head games.
If the tied teams have not yet played all their matches against each other, the criterion is skipped entirely — the app moves straight to the next one in the list. That is intended behaviour, not a fault: comparing on an unfinished round would be unfair. So in the middle of a group stage the places may be decided by a completely different criterion than the one you put first.
An example with three teams
Say three teams in a group of four have 7 points each. What happens:
- If head-to-head points is first, the app builds a table out of the three matches between those teams and separates them by it. But only if all three of those matches have already been played; otherwise the criterion is skipped.
- If goal plus-minus is first, it compares each team's difference across all of its group matches, including the game against the fourth team that is not part of the tie.
These two easily produce different results — which is why the order of criteria should be brought in line with your regulations in advance.
Cards in detail
Cards of all the team's players over the whole group stage are counted, and they carry different weights: a red is 3, a yellow is 1. The smaller the total, the higher the place — this is a fair-play criterion.
How it lands in the count depends on how it was recorded in the protocol: as a red only (3) or as a yellow and a red together (4). If the cards criterion actually decides places for you, agree a single way of recording it with the referees.
If teams are equal on every criterion
It happens: the criteria run out and the teams are still not separated. The app will place them on different positions anyway — two teams will not share a place in the final table.
Which team ends up higher is decided by internal processing order, not by a sporting principle. That order is not guaranteed — teams may swap places on the next recount. If your regulations call for a replay or a draw of lots, treat the places between such teams as not yet decided by the app. To avoid it, add a criterion that will separate them: cards rarely match exactly.
The order of criteria
The order is configured on the Tie-breaker rules screen, which opens from the stage settings.
- Change the order — drag a criterion by the handle on the left.
- Switch a criterion off — clear its checkbox; it stays in the list but is not applied.
- Remove it entirely — the delete icon on the right. You can bring it back with the + button at the top.
The rules are saved together with the stage settings. Changed the order? Go back to the stage settings screen and save it, otherwise your changes are not written.
The default order is: head-to-head → goal difference → goals scored → wins → cards. If your regulations work differently — goal difference first, as in the FIFA rules, say — you have to change the order by hand. The app does not guess your regulations and does not adapt to the type of tournament.
The rules screen is only available for a group stage. In a playoff the bracket decides the places: whoever advanced is higher.
Recounting the table
Normally the recount happens by itself — as soon as a match is finished, the table updates. But if for some reason it did not, you can start the recount by hand: there is a refresh button in the group header. It is only visible to those with rights to edit the tournament.
A recount is needed above all when you changed the rules after the matches were played: adjusted the points for a win, reordered the criteria, applied the tournament rules to the stage. A finished table does not recalculate itself for that — press the button.
Troubleshooting
The points don't match the «3 × wins + draws» formula
Look at the Wp column. Wins in a penalty shoot-out are worth whatever the separate field says — usually less than a win in regulation.
The places aren't what I expected
Check the order of criteria on the stage. By default head-to-head comes first, and if your regulations put goal difference first, the result will diverge from your expectations. The second common cause is that the round among the tied teams is not finished yet, so the head-to-head criterion is skipped.
Teams are equal on absolutely everything — who is higher?
The app will put them on different places, but that order is arbitrary and may change on a recount. Don't rely on it: either add a criterion that separates them, or resolve it by your regulations — a replay or a draw of lots. More detail in the criteria section.
I changed the points rules and the table stayed the same
A finished table does not recalculate automatically when the rules change. Press the refresh button in the group header.
Points are awarded differently from my settings
Most likely the stage has its own rules that differ from the tournament's — the table is calculated by those. Open the stage settings: there will be a warning and an Apply tournament rules button.
I can't find the criteria screen
It only exists for a group stage. In a playoff the bracket decides the places.
Next steps
If you don't have stages and groups yet, start with «Groups + Cup and Plate playoffs», or «Configuring the structure by hand» if your format is non-standard.
Still stuck? Write to support@nsgsoft.me and we will help you sort it out.